Goodwill to the Rescue! 5 Quick & Thrifty Holiday Gifts Under $5

*Disclosure: I will be compensated with a Goodwill gift card in exchange for the items purchased for this post.*

Have a bunch of gifts to give and not a ton of $ and time? Teacher gifts, neighbor gifts, gifts for everyone you share a cubicle with (who does
n't love an office exchange?), mom groups....you name it, Christmas giving can be expensive and stressful.

I have some great, mostly quick ideas for you today, and they are all THRIFTED. Stay with me here. The prices will amaze you and you will never stress about gift giving again! (ha, well actually you might still stress, but you will have 5 great ideas that you will only have to stress about which one to do!)

#1
Framed picture. This might be good for a group of relatives, or maybe even teachers! Either place a photo or print out a cute saying to put inside. Pair it with some chocolates and you are good to go! Most of the smaller frames at Goodwill start at .99 NIETY NINE CENTS PEOPLE!! I got the one below, a wooden 8x10 for .99 cents!

#2
Food. I am a huge fan of consumable gifts. Why? Well, if it is a neighbor or someone you don't know very well, or if the gift is for someone who has everything (hello, grandparent gifts), food is wonderful. I would love if someone gave me a bag of popcorn kernels and some fun toppings. wink wink.But a great presentation really takes things up a notch. Either bake cookies, buy candies in bulk and bag them up, tie with a cute ribbon and place in one of the following from Goodwill.
To package use:
Holiday Mugs - typically these are .49 and .99 at Goodwill

Holiday Bowls - Super cute and easy. I paid $4 total for one huge bowl and one medium sized bowl.

Spray Painted cookie tins, or, if the tin is in great shape, use it as is.
Baskets!! There area always a ton of baskets at Goodwill and they are super affordable.
(giving a gift card? Put it inside a mug, bowl, or tin and add candy! Sometimes its nice to get something along with a gift card!)

#3

 Books! Seriously, with the kind of books I find, in perfect condition and for .99 cents, why not give a book? I have found some great art books that would have normally cost A LOT more than what they are priced at the thrift store. Goodwill on Austin Highway and Goodwill Bitters location are best for books here in San Antonio that I know of.

#4
Ok y'all. Stay with me here! Sometimes I buy clothing at Goodwill just because I like the fabric, unsure of what I will do with it later. I had a dress and a pair of pants to use....
Sew Something!
With a thrifted dress, I sewed rectangles and filled them with dried lavender that I had.

With the pants (color of the week prices!) $2.99, I sewed a makeup bag and lined it with cute fabric from another dress that had a broken strap and was $4.99. Plus there is enough extra fabric for multiple bags and sachets.

#5
Something Crazy. Having a gift exchange? Need a gag gift? Well, you can find it at Goodwill too! One year my husband put a ceramic snail in his work gift exchange. It was a huge hit! There are funny mugs, books and figurines just waiting to be picked up.


I hope you found an idea you can use. Let me know which one is your favorite.